Orange White Chocolate Cheesecake

This is my husbands requested birthday dessert. Every year. Actually whatever special occasion he can request a dessert; this is the one he picks. This is his favorite and a recipe that came from his mom; she makes it on most special occasions as well. She was nice enough to share the recipe with me, it actually originally came from an Easter special in the Casper Star Tribune. It's "orange" because it has orange extract in the topping and is garnished with mandarin oranges., but I've replaced the orange extract with vanilla extract before and served it with other fruit toppings or even fudge or caramel before. It's good any which way your serve it. It's thick, rich and creamy and has the perfect cream cheese flavor. I would recommend making it a day in advance because its like 50 times better once it's sat in the fridge overnight :-)

(Yield 12-16 servings)

Crust 

2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

Filling

4 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

10 oz. white baking chocolate, melted

Topping

1 cup sour cream

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2- 1 tsp orange extract

2 cans mandarin oranges, drained

1. In a bowl, combine the first three ingredients and mix well. Press into the bottom and 1-1/2 inches up the sides of a greased 10 inch spring form pan. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes; cool completely.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and sour cream until blended. Add chocolate and pour into crust. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until center is nearly set. Cool to room temperature.

3. For the topping, combine sour cream, sugar and extract; spread over filling. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes or until set.

4. Chill, uncovered, for 1 hour.

5. Arrange oranges on top of cheesecake.

6. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

You cannot go wrong with this cheesecake. Every time I've ever made it, it's always a huge hit.

It's sweet and creamy, and the oranges give it a nice tart bite. Its also yummy with other toppings. You could serve this plain in a "cheesecake bar" fashion along with an array of toppings and let people design their own masterpiece!

No more buying "no bake" cheesecake mix from a box...no more buying frozen cheesecakes...spend a little time and make this homemade and it's sure to please :-)